


And you will have become a prophet, for your words will have come true

by AriaLink



Series: ACII fix-it [1]
Category: Assassin's Creed II - Fandom, Assassin's Creed Lineage
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family, Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Minor Character Death, Pre-Ezio Auditore da Firenze/Leonardo da Vinci, ooc!Ezio
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:20:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriaLink/pseuds/AriaLink
Summary: In which Ezio is a little more prepared to become a killer





	1. Federico

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [In Knowledge, Power](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18207062) by [LightningStarborne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightningStarborne/pseuds/LightningStarborne), [yourlocalbirb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourlocalbirb/pseuds/yourlocalbirb). 



> Disclaimer: I have not played any Assassin's Creed game, nor have I researched Renaissance Italy much, nor do I speak Italian. If I've made a language or historical mistake, please let me know and I'll fix it as best I can.

As much as he loved his little brother, Federico had to admit there was something... not quite right with Ezio. Perhaps it was the way his spats with Vieri grew increasingly vicious, to the point where Federico felt himself almost sympathizing with the _cazzo_ (almost). Perhaps it was the scowl he always adopted when Claudia received another one of the effusive love letters from someone who thought they'd do well by marrying an Auditore. Perhaps it was nothing, and he was just looking too deep into it.

Still, Federico worried, and his unease must have been written on his face, as his mother had sent him to check on Ezio, who was suspiciously _not_ creating a ruckus somewhere in town. _How strange life has become,_ Federico mused to himself, _that I'm more worried about him when the guards are not running around yelling about 'that Auditore brat', than when they are_. Hopefully, Ezio would grow out of it soon, and Federico wouldn't have to spend so much time chasing after wayward little siblings on rooftops anymore (instead, he would be on the rooftops for another reason).

 _Was I ever like that? I don't remember, but oh, poor_ madre _if it's an Auditore trait_. Federico imagined Claudia gaining a bloodthirsty streak, and shuddered. _Let's hope it's not... ah, there he is_. Crouching down and stepping lightly on the shingles, Federico peeked over the ridge of the roof to see Ezio sitting against a chimney, fiddling with something in his hands.

Leaning in closer to get a better look, Federico gasped when he realized the thing was a bird. A very dead dove, at that, and Ezio was plucking it clean of its plumage, a bag around his neck already overflowing with the bright- and occasionally bloody- feathers. At the noise, Ezio looked up, eyes flaring gold, and Federico ducked down, cursing himself internally. No wonder his father still wouldn't let him become an assassin, if he couldn't even sneak up on a _child_.

"Federico? What are you doing? Is something wrong?" Ezio called out.

Steeling himself, Federico put on the cheeriest smile he could muster, and popped up, making his way to Ezio with more confidence than he felt. "Nothing's wrong, _fratellino_ , can't I just check in on my favorite sibling?"

"Petruccio's your favorite."

"Nonsense! Petruccio may be a sweetheart, but he doesn't have your sense of adventure, Ezio."

" _Madre_ sent you to make sure my sense of adventure wasn't causing trouble, didn't she."

Federico grimaced. "I- she didn't mean-"

"Good," Ezio stated firmly.

"... what?"

"Family is important. Keeping us safe is good."

Federico was flabbergasted. Where had _that_ come from? "Of course, _fratellino_ , but why- er, has something happened, to make you worried?"

"No. I would've told _padre_ if something had."

Well, that was somewhat of a relief. Federico stood on the roof, at a loss for words, staring as Ezio finished quickly, yet methodically ripping out every feather on the dove in his hands. He had done this before. And going by how full the bag was... Federico frowned as he tried to remember if the cook had been making a lot of poultry recently. It didn't seem so, which made the sinking feeling he had even worse.

A breeze drifted past, sending a few feathers drifting away, so Federico reached out and caught one. "And these?" he asked.

"Hmm? The feathers? They're for Petruccio," Ezio replied, carefully patting down the feathers in his bag and closing it. The plucked bird he dropped over the edge of the building, where it made a wet splat on the ground. Federico flinched, but still grasped Ezio's arm and pulled him up.

"Petruccio, you say?"

"Yes. I don't know why he wants them though."

Federico doubted that _this_ was what Petruccio wanted, but before he could try to explain it to Ezio in a way that he could comprehend, there was a commotion on the streets below.

"Hey, _ragazzaccio_! Quit throwing your dead birds down! It's disgusting!" Someone said.

As the clanking of the guards' armor grew louder, Federico sighed. It really was unfortunate that they couldn't manage one day between the two of them that the guards weren't on their tail for something or other. Likely yet another reason his father felt he was not yet ready to join the Brotherhood. _One day..._

"Come, Ezio. Let's go home, it's getting dark and _madre_ is waiting."

\---

Something in Federico's chest loosened as the Palazzo Auditore came into view, majestic as always even as Florence was blanketed in a heavy darkness. He would tell _madre_ and _padre_ about the mess with the bird, and they could deal with it. His father would likely give Ezio a speech on not wasting food, even though the family would never want for anything due to his income from ~~assassination contracts~~ the bank, and his mother would tell Ezio off for littering and pissing off the civilians, even though with the Medici's favor, the Auditore were hardly in danger. Federico would tease his little brother for getting into trouble, and they would deliver the feathers to Petruccio, and everything would be fine.

As the brothers got closer, however, Federico felt his heart leap into his throat as he saw the figures at the door, many of them armed, by the looks of it. Slowing down, he motioned for Ezio to get down and stay quiet, anxiously glancing around to make sure they were not seen.

"Stay here, Ezio, I'll make sure there's no trouble," Federico hissed.

Ezio nodded, but Federico could see a worrying gleam in his brother's eyes, a tension in his shoulders that suggested he was going to do anything but stay put. " _Stay_ ," Federico repeated, heart beating wildly at the thought of Ezio getting arrested, or worse, when his father was still gone doing who knew what under orders of Lorenzo de' Medici.

His heart was still racing as Federico scurried across the roof, leaping across the street and onto the windowsill, gently easing himself down to stay quiet. He then slowly opened the window he'd left unlocked earlier in the day, hopping inside and scrambling into the hall. Annetta, who was walking by with the laundry, jumped, no doubt started by the disheveled man bursting through the doors.

"Ser Federico!" she gasped, "Where have you been? There's someone at the door, he was looking rather-"

"Where is my father?"

"In the dining room, last I saw, why-"

Federico bolted past her, only slowing down when he reached the front door, wrenching it open and scanning the crowd in front of him. Three, no, four guards, and the dining room was a decent distance away. _Good,_ Federico thought. _This is manageable._

"Brother Maffei, how can I help you?" Federico said, out of breath.

Raising an eyebrow at the young man in front of him, Maffei cleared his throat. "I'm looking for Messer Giovanni Auditore. He must come with me immediately. Please fetch him, _signore_."

Federico glanced at the men beside him, heads held high and armor nicked and worn, unlike the city guards that he and Ezio outran every day. _These men know what they're doing_.

Managing a short, jerky nod, Federico closed the door and ran for the dining room. When he finally saw his parents, his father looked worryingly pale, his mother upset. _Oh no, he got hurt, didn't he?_

" _Papá!_ " Federico called out. " _Papá,_ Brother Maffei is here. He wants you to come with him immediately. He's not alone. _Armed_ men are with him.

" _Calmati, figlio,_ " Giovanni said, getting up and putting a hand on his shoulder. 

"Why would Lorenzo de' Medici send guards for you?" Maria asked as Giovanni went to look out the window. "Why?"

"I don't know." Turning to Federico, Giovanni looked him dead in the eyes. "Go back, and tell Maffei that I'm already gone. Buy me some time." Federico nodded, heart thudding loudly in his chest. "Federico, I'm depending on you. You're the eldest. Protect the family. Go."

Federico turned around and ran back out to the front door, opening the peephole to Brother Maffei's expectant expression.

" _Mi dispiace_ , Brother. My father's not home right now. Can it wait until morning?"

"I'm afraid not, child, even if he really was gone. Move aside," Maffei said.

A guard banged on the door. "Open up!"

"What are you doing?" Federico cried, the men shoving their way into the Palazzo despite his best efforts. _Protect the family._ "He's not here!"

As they pushed him into the dining room, Federico saw the fireplace closed and his father gone, just in time. Grazie Dio, _it was enough._ Angrily turning to face Maffei, Federico snapped at him, "I told you, my father _isn't_ here."

Maffei made no move to leave, and Federico felt all the fear and anger of the day well up in himself. "Get out," he said and shoved Maffei back into his guards. "And don't ever doubt the words of an Auditore again," he added when they finally started walking out. "Leave this place now."

When he was sure they really were leaving, and not just going to search the rest of the house, Federico looked back at his mother to make sure she was alright. _Protect the family._ She motioned for him to leave, and Federico's breath hitched, as his attention finally left the Palazzo. Merda, _Ezio!_

Dashing back to the window in the other room, Federico was dismayed to find that Ezio had, predictably, not stayed put. Not wanting to risk Maffei and the guards overhearing a call, he was forced to desperately scan the neighboring rooftops for his little brother, blood rushing through his ears when he found Ezio crouching _on the ground,_ with only a street corner hiding him from view from the front door.

Clambering out the window and down the side of the Palazzo, Federico landed on shaky legs and sprinted across the street, only peripherally aware that he was likely seen. Pulling Ezio into a tight embrace, Federico was ashamed to feel hot tears welling up in his eyes. _Protect the family._ Ezio returned the hug, rubbing soothing circles on Federico's back. What kind of big brother was he, to need to be comforted by his own little brother?

"What do you think you're doing? I told you to- oh, who am I kidding. You're safe, oh you're safe," Federico whispered, pressing a kiss to Ezio's temple. "Don't _ever_ scare me like that again!"

"Of course not, _fratello_ ," Ezio, said, the big fat liar. He would be making the whole family worried again in no time at all, Federico knew it. At that moment, however, he was too filled with relief to complain or notice the considerate look Ezio was sending at the men leaving the Palazzo.

\---

The next day, Federico only felt somewhat rested, as he had tossed and turned for a large part of the night, imagination running wild with images of his father or Ezio being found and taken away. When Claudia went to wake him up in the morning, Federico just groaned and pulled his pillow over his head.

"Wake up, Federico! _Papá's_ back and-" her voice cut out before she continued, quietly, "he's hurt. Come on, Federico!"

At that Federico finally did get up, quickly washing up and tossing on stockings and a doublet. As he put on his boots and padded out the room, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Claudia said, "Wow. You look terrible, _fratello._ "

"Thank you, Claudia, I hadn't noticed," Federico grumbled, suppressing a yawn.

"You should be thanking me," Claudia said with a frown. "I'm saving you from the heartbreak you're going to get when all the girls reject you today."

"Ezio's the one that needs a pretty face, not me."

"If you say so." Claudia looked dubious as they made their way to the dining room, and Federico rolled his eyes, but there was a smile tugging at his lips.

"How... is Ezio, by the way?"

"Ezio?" Claudia looked at him in surprise. " _Bene_ , I guess. Is there something going on with him?"

"No, no, just-... no. There's nothing going on," Federico said. Claudia gave him an unimpressed look. Federico sighed. "When isn't there something going on with Ezio, these days?"

Claudia just hummed as they walked into the dining room, the rest of the family already there. Even Ezio, and Federico guessed his mother must have caught him before he could leave for the day. Giovanni was looking healthier, but there was still a tell-tale tremor in his hands that made Federico's heart clench. Petruccio looked up as they walked in, face lighting up as he saw them.

"Claudia! Federico! You're here!"

"Of course, Petruccio. I was just tired from all the noise last night," Federico said, kissing Petruccio's forehead and Maria's cheek and sitting down to eat. "Were you scared?"

"Of course not, I'm not a _fifone_!" Petruccio said, looking indignant.

"No, you're definitely not," Federico agreed. Given how some of the treatments the doctors had prescribed made even their father queasy, Federico mused that Petruccio was possibly the bravest of them all, going through all of that without flinching.

"And where were you, Ezio? You came back last night so late everyone else was already asleep. What were you doing?" Claudia said.

Well, it was more like only the youngest two of the house were asleep, but Federico was more interested in hearing Ezio's answer than in correcting his sister.

"I was having a _lovely_ time with Cristina, dear sister. Ah, you should've seen her beauty! Laid out on the bed like-"

"Enough!" Claudia said, face pinched. "Ugh, you're disgusting."

"No more than you with Duccio, Claudia," Ezio retorted. Claudia stuck out her tongue at him.

Petruccio shook his head at the immaturity of his older siblings, while Federico just smiled, half amused and half wary. When Giovanni and Maria glanced in his direction, he discreetly shook his head, making both of them frown slightly. Ezio and Claudia continued bickering for the rest of the meal, Federico realizing with startling certainty that they'd fallen into an old pattern that hadn't been showing up for a while. From the looks on Giovanni and Maria's faces, they'd noticed too.

After everyone was finished, Annetta came to take the dishes, and the children were all dismissed except for Federico. Instead, Maria beckoned him to follow her and Giovanni into a side room, where Giovanni closed the door and they both turned to Federico.

"What did Ezio _really_ do last night, _figlio_?" Maria asked. As Federico tried to explain, Giovanni's face grew more and more pinched, and he and Maria kept shooting each other _looks_. "I see," Maria finally muttered when it was all done. "Have we been neglecting him? Petruccio does need a lot of our time, but there's not much we can do about it."

"The bird," Giovanni said, "what exactly did it look like?" As Federico wracked his memory to describe it before Ezio had plucked it clean, Giovanni let out a loud sigh, running a hand through his hair and frowning.

"Is it a special bird?" Federico asked.

"Well, we can't know for sure, but your description matches the pigeons of il Magnifico, who has said that they have been going missing the past few years," Giovanni said.

Ah, not a dove then, but a pigeon. Still, "il Magnifico? Ezio's been stealing the birds of _Lorenzo de' Medici?_ How did this happen? And for so long?" Federico was astonished. Surely, with all of Lorenzo's powers, and Giovanni at his side no less, Ezio would have been caught a long time ago.

" _Sì_ , well, considering the pigeons were never carrying any letters when the disappearances happened, and there were always more pressing matters to be dealing with, I suppose it was just... swept under the rug." Giovanni paused. "That, and I was unable to find the thief," he admitted quietly.

Federico gaped. Sure, he knew that his father was not infallible, and he was likely distracted by other missions the whole time, but the idea of little _Ezio_ getting away with theft under their father's nose for _years_ was almost inconceivable. 

"Do you think... it's about _that_?" Maria whispered, glancing around to make sure all the windows and doors were shut tight. "The Brotherhood?"

"Does Ezio know about it?" Federico asked.

"I haven't told him yet, but maybe he found out somehow," Giovanni said. "We'll have to be more careful about where and when it's discussed, and my missions."

"Are you going to tell him?"

Giovanni sighed. "I don't know. I always imagined that I would teach all of you the creed and the skills, but seeing what he did to Vieri de' Pazzi the other day... Perhaps it's for the best that Ezio remains in the dark." Federico blanched as he remembered when he had to pry Ezio off a still body, worried he'd finally crossed the line and killed someone. "With that much bloodlust in him, I don't know if teaching him how to kill _more efficiently_ is a good idea."

Federico nodded, seeing his point, but still, it felt uncomfortable to know he might have to lie to his little brother for the rest of his life. "And if he already knows?"

"I'm not sure. Try to teach him the creed as best I can I suppose, to make sure he stays his blade when he should."

There was a pregnant pause as the three mulled over what they'd learned. "Well Federico," Maria finally said, smiling, " _grazie_ for your work. Continue keeping an eye on Ezio for us, _bene_?"

" _Sì, madre_." _Protect the family._

\---

Federico threw himself into the stances, frustratingly aware of how lacking he was. His grip was too weak while his arm was too stiff, his feet were too clumsy and his hips weren't angled right ~~they never were~~. If Giovanni were there to see him, he'd knock the sword right out of his hand and scold him for forgetting everything he'd been taught.

And he'd be right. Federico was distracted, not focused, and he'd never been that great at swordplay anyways. His own body- he knew how to work that, in a brawl, on the rooftops, in a bed even. But while that was all well and good, the assassin's signature weapon was a blade, not a fist. He was far from being ready to become an assassin, and it was so _aggravating_ that Ezio was closer than he was, maybe even closer than he ever would be. He even had the famous eagle vision, the ability that the assassins wrote odes to, that made their work so much more efficient. Even without their father's training, the only thing holding Ezio back was that he was _too_ good.

Federico knew that that was hardly the full story, that there was more to being an assassin than contracts and murder, but it was hard to remember when he was faced with the sheer- _everything_ \- that was Ezio Auditore. _You're being childish,_ he told himself. _Childish and jealous and petty. You should be proud of him. One day, he'll grow out of his recklessness, and he'll be a fine assassin, maybe even one of the best. They'll put up a statue of him, in the sanctuary. Your own_ fratellino! _A future_ maestro _, no doubt._

Federico sighed and put away the sword. It wasn't just jealousy, he knew. That would be much simpler to deal with. It was also a deep-seated anxiety, one that had implanted itself in his soul ever since Ezio was born and had never gone away. The moment his father had thrust a squirming, wailing babe in his face, proclaiming it _famiglia_ , Federico knew nothing was ever going to be the same. Not a day went by without the thought of 'is Ezio alright?' running through his mind, and as he gained siblings, it only got worse. 'Is Claudia alright?' 'Is Petruccio alright?'

The first few years were the worst. Ezio seemed to despise sleeping, waking up the whole Palazzo with his crying in the middle of the night. It was only when he learned to speak that they found out he was having night terrors almost every night, awful dreams of blood and death that frightened him awake. Maria and Giovanni had been despondent, asking all the doctors they could for a cure, and even asking a priest to perform an exorcism, despite their lack of faith. They would try _anything_ , to help their child. Only none of it worked, and it was with a soul-crushing fatigue that the family went through the whole thing again for Petruccio, for another child they could not help.

Eventually, Ezio did learn to quiet his cries, and everyone breathed a quiet sigh of relief at being able to sleep again, but Federico still found himself waking up with Ezio under his arm and a tear-soaked nightshirt most days. It always broke his heart a little more to know his little brother was suffering through the night, and he always made sure to give Ezio extra hugs and kisses the following morning, despite his protests.

 _Perhaps that's why Ezio is so desensitized to it all,_ Federico thought. He'd already seen the worst of humanity in his dreams, and nothing in their peaceful daytime lives could compare. Really, it was a miracle he turned out half decent, collecting feathers for Petruccio and charming the skirts off of any lady that he met (although he still got a bit tongue-tied with Cristina, it seemed. He couldn't blame him, when faced with beauty like hers even the wittiest of men would find their minds blank).

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Federico left the training room. It would do him no good to be stuck in the past like this, and there was still the matter of his father's wound to think about. Not only was Lorenzo de' Medici's most lethal weapon out of commission, but the Duke of Milan was also dead and they were only now uncovering the conspiracy that loomed over Florence. According to Giovanni, the mastermind he had confronted in Rome was still alive, and no doubt gathering the other conspirators for another attack on the Medici.

Federico needed to hurry up and become an assassin already, but impatience never brought anything but misery, and he was in no state to train. Perhaps a visit to La Rosa Colta would do him good and put him in a better mood. There was no doubt he needed the stress relief. Just as he was grabbing the money he would need and leaving, a series of frantic knocks at the door and a call for "Giovanni Auditore" came.

Still suspicious from last night, Federico looked through the peephole, but it was only a frazzled looking messenger, pale as a sheet and shaking like one too. Cautiously opening the door, Federico asked him what the message was. The poor man was stuttering so hard he could barely get it out, whitening even further at Giovanni's fierce strides towards the door behind Federico. What he did manage to say, though, made Federico's blood run cold.

"There has been a murder at Palazzo Medici! Brother Maffei is dead!"


	2. Ezio

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ezio is a prophet in a different sense

Warm, red blood flowing over his fingers and splashing on his chest. The softness of flesh giving way, the hardness of metal armor sliced apart. The stench of decaying corpses, rotting flesh and shit as the body broke down. The last dying gasps of a man (as it usually was) who realized too late that they'd been stabbed, who clung to life as only those on their deathbed could. The face going slack and the eyes dulling over. Misery and pain, faces he didn't recognize contorted in agony and rage. Venomous words, pleads for salvation, assassins and templars and conspiracies.

Ezio woke up with a scream, clumsily flinging off the blankets that were too suffocating, too clean. Why were they so clean? It was dark. It was cold. He shivered, throat parched and sweat dripping down his neck. There was a frantic rustling next to him and a voice called his name.

"Ezio, what's wrong?" His brother.

Footsteps came thundering down the hall and the door to their bedroom slammed open, a sword gleaming in the candlelight. His father. Another voice. His mother. There were arms around him now, holding his shaking arms still and warming him. Hushed murmurs and peppered kisses, lit lamps and soothing circles on his back.

"Is he gonna be ok?" His sister.

A distressed wail. The baby.

Ezio gasped and reached out for his father, who set the sword aside and clutched him close to his chest. "Shh, shh, _mio caro figlio,_ everything's alright. It was just a dream."

Ezio shook his head. His father was dead, heavy body cooling as it went limp in Ezio's arms, the ever-growing pool of crimson staining his strange white robes and the dirt below them. His father was dead, head held at a terrifying angle as he swung from the gallows, two boys beside him. His father was dead, looking for all the world to see as if he were merely asleep, if not for the awful stillness of his chest. His father was alive and holding him close to his chest in the middle of the night.

Alive. He was alive.

His breathing slowly evened out, the occasional hiccup getting through. The sheer panic that flooded his body was ebbing away, his clammy hands settling and his chest relaxing. Nobody was dead. His mother was humming a little tune, something that seemed foreign yet familiar all at once, as if he'd heard it long ago, but forgotten. Claudia was playing with his hair, her usual biting remarks absent, Federico was tending to the baby. _Petruccio_. Ezio recognized the name, and he got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

" _Papà?_ " Ezio whispered.

"Yes, son?"

"What does _requiescat in pace_ mean?"

Giovanni stiffed, fingers digging into Ezio's back. "Where did you hear that, _tesoro_?"

"In my dream."

A hand on his head, Ezio was pulled under Giovanni's chin. "It's something you say once someone has died. It's a wish for them to rest in peace in heaven."

Rest in peace, huh? How ironic, that Ezio could never do so.

"It didn't work," Claudia said.

"Claudia!" Maria said.

"What? The priest said the demon was gone, but Ezio's still having nightmares. He lied."

"You shouldn't accuse such things of a priest, Claudia. Perhaps it's not a demon. We can call the doctor again-"

"No!" Ezio shouted. "No more doctors. I'm done. I'll be fine."

"You're nowhere near fine, little brother," Federico said. "Besides, it's looking like Petruccio's going to need them too."

"And what do you know of medicine, anyway?"

"More than you, clearly."

"Boys! Enough." Maria's voice was stern. "We'll discuss this in the morning. For now, let's just all get back to bed. Ezio, do you want to sleep with _papà_ and me tonight?"

"No, _mamma_."

" _Bene_ , but if you get scared again, you know where our room is."

Ezio blushed. "I won't, _mamma_."

Maria pressed a kiss to her second son's forehead and got up, taking the candle and Giovanni with her. "Sleep well, children."

A chorus of "Sì, mamma" and a baby gurgling answered her.

There were murmurs in the hall as Giovanni and Maria explained what had happened to Annetta, then the door closed and the bedroom was blanketed in darkness and silence once more. Ezio pulled the covers back up and closed his eyes, trying not to whine at the fading warmth. There was the susurration of Claudia and Federico getting back into their beds, then a sigh from Federico's bed.

"Come here, Ezio."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"N-umph." Ezio grunted as Federico plopped down beside him, limbs snaking around his and face smushing against his shoulder.

"Better?"

"Shut up."

A few moments later, another grunt as Claudia dropped onto his other side, snuggling close and bracketing Ezio in from all sides.

"Don't worry _fratello,_ " she whispered. "We'll protect you from the scary nightmares."

Ezio wriggled his arm out from the pile of Auditore limbs and smacked her. She smacked him back. Federico grabbed his arms before he could smack her again, and smacked both of them himself.

"Stop it. Sleep."

Sticking his tongue out at Claudia (and he was pretty sure she did the same back, even if he couldn't see anything), Ezio finally relaxed. His mind wandered into the realm of sleep, cocooned in warmth and shielded from nightmares.

\---

But then everything changed. Little Petruccio looked like a wrinkly, ugly tomato when he was born, and Ezio was simultaneously relieved and horrified as he grew into a perfectly normal, sweet boy. Relieved, because although he would love his _fratellino_ no matter what, he was glad that Petruccio wouldn't have to try to woo anyone with the face he was born with. _You looked the same when you were born, Ezio_ Federico would tell him, smirking. _Preposterous,_ Ezio would reply, showing off both his newly learned vocabulary and hand gesture. _I always looked this fabulous._ Horrified, because Petruccio was growing into the little boy he saw fall to his death at the Piazza della Signoria next to his father at night. For that matter, Federico was too.

It only got worse from there. One of the Pazzi, the _pezzo di merda_ of a boy about his age, grew closer and closer into one of the dying men from his dreams, stupid hat and all. His father introduced him to Gonfalonieri Uberto Alberti at the bank, another whom Ezio had first met as a corpse. When the family went to visit Zio Mario in Monteriggioni, Ezio the walls were pummeled by cannon fire as a sinister looking man with a red cape and strange voice shot his uncle in the back. There was a matching bloom of red hot pain in his own shoulder, and then his entire body as he fell to the ground.

By the time he was old enough to understand what Federico meant by the " _bellezze_ of Florence", Ezio knew his dreams were not just a child's unfortunate imagination. After he worshipped a lovely lady's lovely figure in bed, he held her bloodstained body in his arms as she wished for a second chance. _This is it,_ he realized, even as he woke up gasping and crying, the poor girl torn between comforting him and stopping her father from killing him on the spot. _This is my second chance._

So he set to training. The world was cruel, he knew, even if his life didn't feel like it. He'd asked the city guards for help at first, but they'd just laughed at the prospect of a flabby noble brat who thought he could fight (Federico apparently took offense on his little brother's behalf and quickly disabused them of _that_ notion). Then he remembered when his little sister, the darling of the family, stood over 4 bodies with a bloody knife in hand. He spent weeks looking for the room she was standing in, only to be somewhat alarmed when he found out it was likely a brothel.

Regardless, off to the courtesans he went, and although they could not teach him to kill, they did teach him to blend with the crowd and steal from the unsuspecting passerby (giggling behind his back all the while about why a boy his age would want spending money his parents didn't know about). In the end, though, Ezio was left on his own to learn how to take a life, or so he thought.

"Let me join you."

"... what? If you want to sit down-" Ezio said.

"No, I mean with your training. I want in."

"Claudia, why in the world-"

 _"_ To kill Vieri de' Pazzi."

At that, Ezio sat up, blood rushing through his ears. "If that _cazzo_ did anything to you-"

Claudia sniffed in disdain. "He tried to proposition me, but I kicked him in the _palle_ and screamed until _papà_ showed up. Something about him getting revenge on you fucking his sister."

Ezio leaped to his feet, hand clenched into fists. "I'll teach him a lesson-"

"No," Claudia said, stepping in his way. "I will. But I need to learn how, first. I followed you to the _bordello_ , but that can't be it. What are you doing next?" Ezio opened his mouth, ready to tell Claudia that it was too dangerous, but she beat him to it. "If you're going to tell me that it's _too dangerous_ , I'll kick you in the _palle_ too. Don't think I won't just because you're my brother. Federico and Petruccio can carry on the family name for you."

Ezio opened and closed his mouth a few times more until he just sat back down and sighed. Claudia gave a solemn nod. "It's settled then. I don't know what the girls of this city see in you. Clearly, they're lacking in taste. What next?"

"Animals, I suppose."

"Animals? Why?"

"It's a bit early to practice killing humans, don't you think?"

And so they started with animals, stray cats and dogs at first, but then moving on to birds. Initially, the creatures always seemed to sense when he or Claudia were there, scampering off with a hiss or a growl before they even got close. But the more they practiced, the sneakier they got, until one day Ezio was finally able to catch one of the _fottuti randagi_ and snap its neck.

It actually took a lot of fiddling, as he needed to figure out how to properly grasp the head and avoid the sharp claws and teeth. In the end, he was soaked in blood, but most of it was his, not the cat's.

"Ugh, that's disgusting."

"Thank you, Claudia, I hadn't noticed."

"What are you going to do with the body?" She asked.

"I don't know, throw it in the river or something."

Claudia just sniffed and scolded him for being so wasteful. "Just watch and learn, brother." She managed to clean it up in the Arno, then stole a knife from the kitchen and roughly skinned, gutted, and deboned the cat. The pair then marched into Mercato Vecchio and Claudia managed to wrangle a decent number of florins from a few unsuspecting buyers. Ezio just watched, equal parts impressed and intimidated as Claudia used the force of her personality to steamroll over the other person and convince them that the alley cat fur was prime ermine fur from the Kingdom of France, while the bones were rare dragon bones preserved from the 9th century.

"Ermines look nothing like that and dragons aren't real, Claudia. You're making the Auditore look bad."

"You're the one who killed the cat with your bare hands and was just going to dump the body in the river. Honestly, Ezio, _papà_ is a banker. Have you learned nothing from him?"

"Federico was the one with the apprenticeship, not me."

"I didn't get an apprenticeship either, and yet I still have more sense of money than you. How were you expecting to pay for weapons, pickpocketing?"

Ezio just punched her in the arm and crossed it off his mental list. "No."

"Liar. And you better change clothes before Annetta sees you, or she's going to faint."

"Shut up, Claudia."

After a few more corpses and Claudia becoming surprisingly proficient at skinning and gutting, they'd finally saved up enough for a pair of daggers. The merchant looked extremely reluctant to be selling weapons to a couple of children, let alone a girl, but one of Claudia's specialty glares made him realize she was just going to get a dagger anyways, and he wouldn't want to be on her bad side once that came to pass. As Ezio examined his knife, he realized it was a dull, shabby one that was more a toy than a tool, and they'd need to find a better, more discreet way to get weapons in the future.

"It hardly compares to Leonardo's work," he muttered.

"Who?"

"What?"

"Leonardo. Who is he? Maybe we should be getting our blades from him instead, if he's that good," Claudia said.

"Who's Leonardo?"

"I asked you, _idiota_."

"Why would I know who Leonardo is?" Ezio asked, bewildered.

"Because you just- ugh, nevermind. Forget it."

With the knives, it was much easier to make the kills, and Claudia managed to get her first one. Warm, red blood flowed over her fingers and splashed on her chest. ~~The softness of flesh giving way, the hardness of metal armor~~ She retched and dropped the bird, the knife still sticking out of its neck.

" _Fanculo_ , that's vile. How do you do it?" She said, wiping down her dress. It would need to be washed in secret before being given to Annetta to put in the laundry.

"It's not about Vieri, is it?" Ezio asked. His stomach was turning as well, but not from the bird.

"What about Vieri?"

"You said you wanted to kill him. Was it all a lie? Why are you here, doing this?"

Claudia was silent for a long while, not looking at Ezio. She gingerly picked up her knife by the handle and shook the bird off of it, grimacing when it fell to the ground with a wet splat. "I wasn't lying about Vieri propositioning me. He really did, and I really did kick him. He deserved it."

Ezio waited.

"But he doesn't deserve to die for it. He's hardly the first or the worst. But you might just kill him anyway. Why, Ezio?"

For a moment, Ezio considered spilling everything. His dreams, Vieri's dying words, the shadows that lurked in Florence while Federico raced him on rooftops and Maria commissioned paintings. But he didn't, not wanting to drag Claudia any deeper than he had to. For all he knew, his dreams were just his subconscious playing a sick joke on him every night, and Vieri was just a noble brat, the kind he or even Federico could have easily become if Giovanni didn't set them on the right path.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that you're getting yourself into danger, as usual, and there's no way I'm letting you go alone." There was a fire in Claudia's eyes, a familiar one. She was an Auditore through and through. "I may not be able to stop you Ezio, but I won't let you die. I'd kill you first."

"No, you won't. You can't even kill an _uccello_ without wanting to throw up," Ezio retorted, but he could feel his face getting hot and his eyes starting to water.

"That's not the point, dumbass." Claudia sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come here." She grabbed him in a hug and Ezio wrapped his arms around her waist. "If you won't tell Federico or _papà_ or _mamma_ , you can tell me. I'll always be here for you. We're all here for you, even if you're too much of a dumbass to realize it."

They probably made a silly sight, both siblings holding knives as if to stab each other in the back, blood splattered in between them and a dead bird on the cobblestone beside them. "... Thank you, Claudia," Ezio mumbled.

"You're welcome, Ezio. Now, we should probably get rid of the evidence before the guards arrest us. And now you'll have to wash your clothes too, so we should do that before Federico finds us and freaks out."

"In just a moment, Claudi-ow! Ok, ok, let's clean up."

\---

Claudia admitted that she never wanted to kill anything in the first place ("Really? You don't seem it." "Shut up Ezio."), so she just followed Ezio as he practiced. There were a surprising number of strays in Florence, so Ezio had plenty of opportunities to note the angles that led to faster deaths, the ones that caused a spurt of blood in his face, the ones that took away the creature's ability to cry out.

When he was done learning about the throat, he turned to the torso, holding down the limbs with his knees and sticking his knife in between the ribs, wiggling it around and memorizing the places where it got stuck. Claudia looked away while the animal was left to struggle for minutes as Ezio tried to figure out new ways to put it out of its misery, but never left or retched again.

When the animal had finally finished dying, Claudia would cut a slit straight down the chest and they would peer at the guts, poking them and watching the fluids burst from their sacks. The long tubes below the ribs released foul smells when punctured, as did the stomach bag. The heart and lungs were protected by the ribs, but those could be broken or bypassed, and Ezio speculated that on humans, he could stab up from below them with sufficient force. _Leonardo would be fascinated_ , he thought, then _Leonardo would be horrified_ , then _Again, who is Leonardo?!_

As he got better Ezio noticed that his movements were coming unnaturally easily, as if he had years of experience that he was only now unlocking. Even Claudia was reluctantly impressed by how quickly he was improving, although she looked disquieted by the idea that her brother was a natural born killer. His visions grew more vivid as well, to the point where the blood on his hands all flowed together and he had a hard time remembering if he was a child or an adult. Claudia and Federico were always there in the middle of the night to calm him down though, and he never woke up screaming again.

Then everything changed again when he was attempting to pickpocket a guard one day, but was assaulted with images of a wrist-mounted blade to the back when he activated his eagle vision. Stumbling, he had to be dragged away by Claudia from the now alerted guards, who were not appreciative of the little _monello_ running around robbing people blind. She stayed by his side the whole time he was wracked with splitting headaches and flashes of various armored men dying by his hand, even though she looked like she desperately wanted to go punch whoever was to blame.

Giovanni had always called his eagle vision his "talent", but Ezio knew it was much more than the time Federico taught him to play the lute ("the ladies love it, dear brother, and I'm sure mother would appreciate you having some kind of skill outside the bedroom"). He could tell where the people around him where, even if they weren't in his line of sight, whether they meant harm or help, and even who they were and how they were feeling to a certain extent.

And apparently, how people died, as well. As he and Claudia tested his new abilities, Ezio realized he could now trace a person's path through their footsteps, detect injuries and poisons, and even important items if he focused on what he wanted to hide. "Maybe you've killed so many dogs you're becoming one, _fratello_ ," Claudia said, and Ezio shrugged. Maybe he was. Maybe if he killed enough birds he'd learn to fly one day.

There a more pressing issue, however. That night, Ezio creeped out to the Arno, staring at his reflection in the water. He activated the Sight, and the night turned to day as the streets were filled with bustling crowds. He sat on a bench, body strangely exhausted and weak. There was a _bastardo_ sitting next to him and a sharp pressure in his chest. A little girl across the Piazza was looking at him. The _bastardo_ smiled and everything went black.

Ezio blinked, and he was held in the air by invisible bonds, a balding man in a red and white robe before him. There were limp corpses all around him, their armor no match for whatever fate had befallen them. The man thrust a dagger in his gut, sending icy fire spreading throughout his body. Ezio wanted to writhe in pain, but he was stuck in place, left to feel every agonizing moment as they drew out into eternities. The man left and Ezio collapsed to the ground. He blacked out again.

He was standing on a wooden scaffold, a noose tight around his neck and a sea of hateful faces looking up at him. The Gonfalonieri was rambling about something or another, then the ground dropped from underneath him. The crack of his neck breaking snapped him out of the vision, and Ezio realized he was trembling. He snuck back into the Palazzo Auditore just before the sun rose and lay in his bed, eyes wide open but unseeing, even as Claudia, Federico, and now Petruccio slumbered on peacefully by his side.

\---

Ezio was running out of time. Petruccio and Federico were fast approaching the age of the hangings, and nobody but Claudia had the faintest idea that anything was wrong. Ezio decided it was time to go on the offensive. The first step was to investigate the Gonfalonieri, the commonality between all the hangings and the man his father had called a traitor thousands of times. To do that he would need to sneak into the Palazzo Medici, and after a few days of contemplation, Ezio admitted to himself that he couldn't do it alone. When he told Claudia, she looked at him like he'd decided to become celibate.

"That's the _Medici_ you're talking about Ezio, even with your- I refuse to call it Eagle Vision, that's a stupid name- how can you expect to do anything in the Palazzo without getting caught?" She asked.

"It's not a stupid name, and that's why I need you to help me. Please, Claudia?"

"How would adding more people be better for stealth?"

"Because then I can be the lookout, while you look for suspicious... I don't know, documents or something." Ezio gave his best puppy-eyed look, the one that worked on 9/10 Florentine women whenever he needed something. Claudia just stared. Figures, his own sister would be the 1/10.

Finally, she sighed, hanging her head in defeat. "You're just going to go anyway no matter what I do, aren't you?"

"... Maybe."

"Fine. Let's go."

Ezio let out a whoop and pressed a kiss to her cheek, receiving a glare that would turn the Mediterranean to ice in return.

\---

The plan surprisingly went off without a hitch, at least until they left the Palazzo, that is.

"You _took_ the letters?" Ezio asked, incredulous.

"Of course? But look here Ezio, I think there's something going on with-"

"You. Took. The letters."

"Yes. I. did. What's the problem?" Claudia looked annoyed now, and in any other instance, Ezio would be backing away slowly.

"What's the problem? _What's the problem?_ Now they're going to know! Claudia, we might as well have been caught!"

Claudia's eyes widened before she wrangled her face back into an angry expression. "Well, maybe if someone had told me who 'they' are, I would have known how to hide from them. And besides," she crossed her arms over her chest, "it's too risky to try and return them now."

Ezio closed his eyes, flashing back to that night at the Arno. "Let's just... see what you found."

As they read, huddled under the canopy of an empty stall, Claudia's eyes got wider and wider and Ezio's heart leaped into his throat.

"They're going to kill us," Claudia whispered, voice shaking.

"They're going to kill Lorenzo," Ezio said, reaching for the next letter. There was none. They'd run out of material. He turned to look at Claudia, feeling every bit of the fear etched onto her face.

"This is- you were- they- how did you know, Ezio?" She said.

"I didn't. Not all of it. But we need to know more. And we can't keep going into the Palazzo, it's too risky. Especially anyone could be a traitor."

"The courier pigeons," Claudia said, her fear bleeding into determination. "Just like with the other birds. We have to take them down before these letters get sent or received."

Ezio nodded. It was risky, but it was better than trying to get at the letters once the intended recipient already had a hold of them. Besides, "Petruccio's started asking for feathers lately. If anyone catches us in the act, we can claim it was for him." He felt ill about using his little brother like that, but it was better than sentencing him to the gallows.

Claudia bit her lip. "And if we only intercept the letters from the conspirators, the Gonfalonieri can't tell Lorenzo or _papà_ about it, or they'd get caught too. We'd only have to worry about being hunted by them." Only, as if angering an old, organized, deadly group like the Templars would be so simple.

"No." Claudia looked at him, confused. "No, we're not just going to hide forever. We can't just fix this with hiding."

"Ezio!"

"We have to kill them first, Claudia, only defending ourselves is not enough to stop the execution."

"And how do you plan to do that? You're just a boy, Ezio. Just one boy against men that can order you dead with the flick of a quill, and if Father or Lorenzo find out about this, they'll make you wish you were dead."

"We don't have any other choice, Claudia." He paused, as he took in her quivering shoulders, her lip gnawed raw in an attempt to not cry. Ezio pulled her in for a hug. "I'm going to kill them all. Are you with me, Claudia?"

She let out a little sob. " _Sempre_ , Ezio."

\---

And so he graduated to humans. Practicing on animals wasn't enough anymore, even though he and Claudia still stalled as many pigeons as they could going to and from the Palazzo Medici, only allowing them to continue on their way if the letters were stamped with Lorenzo's personal seal. Ezio's sights were set on Vieri (and wasn't that a trip, finding out his bully of a neighbor was in on the conspiracy to topple the government). He'd already had a scuffle over Claudia with him, and he was a prick anyway, so Ezio felt confident that his escalation wouldn't be cause for concern for Vieri's father or the other Templars.

It took weeks of excruciating work, riling up the other boy, goading him to fight harder, longer, to keep at it even when his lackeys were down. Each time was simultaneously easier and harder, as Vieri got pissed off faster, but also more confident, more skilled, and more used to countering Ezio's fighting style. He ended up being thrown to the ground so many times he'd developed a persistent limp, and it was only barely that he managed to convince Claudia not to call the whole thing off. Luckily his usual rendezvous with the ladies of the town were sufficient to cover up the nature of his injuries, but still, the family worried, and even Federico gained a reputation with the guards for dragging Ezio out of fights, or, more commonly, joining in to defend him.

Finally, Ezio had cornered Vieri on the edge of the San Marco District, then slowly lured him just outside the city walls. Claudia was distracting the guards by picking a fight with another girl that claimed her beloved Duccio was engaged to her, and it seemed the time for Vieri to die had arrived. They'd been going at it for the better part of the day, and Ezio had broken his nose, his knees screamed at him when they bent, and his shirt was a shredded mess of scarlet cloth. Still, it would all be worth it if he could just-

Vieri slammed his elbow into Ezio's gut, making him throw up his breakfast all over him, and while Vieri recoiled, disgusted, Ezio's fist snapped out, socking him in the temple. The brat collapsed, hopefully knocked out, and Ezio fell as well, gasping in pain as he groped around to find where he'd dropped his knife. He just needed to slit the bastard's throat, and it would be one less Templar stalking the streets.

After minutes of agonized flailing, he finally jabbed his fingers onto the blade, and yanked it off the ground, uncaring of how it sliced into his palm. It may have been dull when he and Claudia bought it, but Ezio was pleased to note that after they had fixed it up, it was certainly sharp enough now for what he needed to do.

Staggering to his knees, Ezio crawled towards Vieri as his vision faded in and out. He likely only had moments of consciousness left, and his mouth was filling with salty blood, but that was enough. Ezio grasped Vieri's stupid face with one hand as he pulled back the other, ready to impale his knife into Vieri's soft, unprotected neck, but he couldn't bring his knife back down. Ezio tugged a couple more times, uncomprehending, before the knife was pried out of his fingers and his body was hauled away from Vieri's. As Ezio landed on his back with a thud on the grass, the last thing he saw was Federico's terror-stricken face as he called for help.

\---

Ezio woke up to a bed surrounded by a sea of distressed faces as a doctor's droning voice in the background listed off his various injuries. When he turned to look at Claudia, wincing at how the simple movement made his head feel like he was the one that got hit in the temple, she looked a mix of furious and guilty. He opened his mouth to reassure her, but he started coughing instead, and there was a flurry of activity as the doctor and Annetta fussed over his bandages.

Giovanni spoke up instead, his voice tight with emotion. Ezio was grounded for 2 months, and to stay on bed rest for 2 weeks. Maria had that look in her eyes that if Ezio disobeyed, he would be stuck for even longer, so he just nodded his head in acknowledgment. He would need to heal before he could take on anyone else anyway, and it was admittedly nice to spend some time with the family before he got whisked away in an attempt to protect them again.

He would also need to invest in a better weapon. While he had beaten Vieri, the cost was much too high, and he couldn't afford to do the same for the countless Templars that threatened Florence. No doubt they would be stronger than Vieri as well, as fully trained adults. Thankfully, Claudia understood and promised to look around for him while he was stuck in the Palazzo Auditore. When she returned, it was with a short blade he could hide in his sleeve and a set of throwing knives.

"Here. I got them from the mamma's painter, Leonardo da Vinci," she said as she handed them over.

"A painter?... Leonardo?"

Claudia shrugged. "He's a strange man. Good eye for anatomy, eccentric but eager and hardworking. Something of an engineer and inventor too, apparently. I tried to get him to make a sword, but he refused, on account of being a pacifist. But I was able to... convince... him to make these." She snorted. "He's even worse than you with girls. I didn't think that was possible."

Ezio mentally apologized to the man. Claudia's "convincing" was not something he'd wish on an unsuspecting civilian. "You made sure he'd keep it secret, right?"

"Of course. He won't be telling anyone about this."

"Good." As Ezio relaxed back into his bed, he tried to picture the mysterious Leonardo in his head. Was he tall? Good looking? Did he have a beard? How old was he? Why did he know his name? Ezio saw a decrepit old man, lying in a bed surrounded by well-dressed mourners as his eyes shut for the last time. _No, that can't be..._

"Ezio? What's wrong?" Claudia asked, wiping away his tears.

Ezio raised a hand to his cheek, mortified to find it wet. "Why am I- I don't- Nothing, Claudia, I don't know why I'm crying."

She didn't look convinced but didn't press further, only using her sleeve to keep cleaning his face.

"Stop that Claudia, you're going to ruin your dress." Ezio handed the weapons back to her. "Keep these somewhere safe. Did you find anything else out?"

She looked a little sheepish. "I did a little snooping around the house. Even... the rooms that papà said were off limits. I found his robe and weapons. He really is an assassin, like the letters said."

Ezio nodded. "And he really is hiding it from us." He ignored the raised eyebrow Claudia sent him.

"We're hiding things from him too." She took a deep breath. "You should tell him, Ezio. He could help. He could train us, so _this_ " she gestured in his direction "doesn't happen again."

"No," Ezio said, "he wouldn't train us, he'd just lock us up and try to protect us himself." He glared at Claudia, daring her to deny it. "He doesn't realize what kind of danger we're in. He doesn't realize he can't do it alone."

"And what do you think you're doing right now?! I swear, I'm surrounded by _idioti_. He doesn't know because _you haven't told him_ , Ezio."

"Just don't say anything to him."

"But-"

"No, Claudia."

She looked seconds away from slapping him upside the head but backed off when her eyes flickered up to the bandages around his head. " _Bene, fratello._ But when you get yourself killed, I'm spitting on your grave."

" _Grazie_ , Claudia."

"Hmpf."

\---

Ezio impatiently waited as the 2 months went by, body itching to get back on the street and practice using his new weapons. It seemed like everyday Claudia was bringing him more bad news, from the Templars' realization that someone was reading their correspondence to the death of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, the Duke of Milan. Every time she left the Palazzo Auditore, Ezio was struck with a soul-crushing fear that she would get caught, and never return. Claudia scoffed at him when he admitted it to her, but Ezio could tell she was getting nervous too.

Finally, the day came when Ezio was let free. After a quick word about some debauching some fair maiden or another, he and Claudia ran out the door with the new weapons. They tested them on the local bird population, Ezio perfecting his aim with the throwing knives (his Eagle Vision was a huge help) and getting used to the feel of wielding the much higher quality short sword. It was luckily just in time as well, as a couple of weeks later, the Templars sent Antonio Maffei and some armored guards to try to take Giovanni away.

That night, after making sure Federico and Petruccio were asleep, Ezio and Claudia locked eyes under the moonlight gently filtering in through the window. They quickly and quietly put on the tight-fitting, darkly colored clothing they'd prepared before, grabbed their weapons, and climbed out the window. With the ease of an act well practiced, they navigated the Florentine streets with Ezio's Eagle Vision and found the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella and the room that Maffei slept in.

Ezio climbed up to the roof, then down into the courtyard, letting his Vision guide him through the halls and to Maffei's bedside. The man looked serene in his sleep, no sign of the devious atrocities he planned to commit. Steeling his nerves, Ezio quickly brought his hand over Maffei's mouth and stuck his short sword into his neck. Maffei's eyes flew open but dulled before he could do anything, the monk dying with only a soft gurgle. Ezio pulled the short sword out, letting the blood ooze onto the bed, and turned to leave before stopping. No, he had a better idea.

It was surprisingly difficult to scale a wall with a dead man hanging off his shoulder, and Ezio worried that the day would arrive before he and Claudia could pull it off. Luckily, he managed to land on the other side without Maffei falling off, and turned to face Claudia's appalled expression.

"Ezio!" she hissed, cautious of making too much noise. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? There's going to be a whole fucking trail of blood now!"

"We need to send a message, like _papà_ does when he assassinates." Claudia just gaped at him. "There's no time. Just help me bring him to Palazzo Medici."

She buried her face in her hands, muttering something about idiotic brothers, before grabbing Maffei and slinging him onto her own shoulder, buckling a little under the weight. Ezio moved to help her, but she just shook her head. "Just like last time, Ezio. I'll do the thing and you'll be on the lookout."

However, unlike last time there were significantly more heart-stopping moments of panic where Claudia tried to get Maffei to stop leaking blood all over the place, and Ezio tried to bring them to the main hall of the Palazzo without the guards noticing. When they finally arrived, Claudia eased the body to the ground, rotating her shoulder and wincing. Ezio allowed himself a moment of spiteful glee, admiring the scene in front of them.

 _Just you try_ , it said. _Just you try to kill Firenze. But Firenze's going to bite back. Your days are numbered, Templars._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was being annoying and I basically had to rewrite the whole thing *bangs head on table*. Anyways, constructive criticism welcome, especially if I forgot about something from chapter 1 or I need to change the tags. Thanks for all the support everyone, I'm so glad you enjoy :')


	3. Claudia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ezio is a giant dumbass

"I would like to state for the record that I thought this was a terrible idea from the beginning."

"Record? I would hope there's no record, Claudia."

She gave Ezio one of her signature unimpressed looks. What was he thinking? "You just dumped the body of one of Lorenzo de' Medici's trusted underlings on his doorstep the morning after he sent him to investigate _our_ family, and not to mention, the conspirators have stopped using letters because they know they're being taken. We're going to get caught!"

He scowled and crossed his arms. "It was _in_ the door ( _that's worse, Ezio! Who else but our father could do that without getting caught?_ ), and they would've found the body anyways. Besides, now at least Lorenzo knows he's involved. He can prepare himself."

"Yeah, from _us_. You do realize you made it look like _papà_ is going after Lorenzo, right?"

"Then maybe the Templars won't suspect we're onto them." He threw his hands up. "Just relax, Claudia, it'll all work out. We already have one _pezzo di merda_ down, now we just have to get the others."

"Right, like that's going to be so simple." She pulled out the two lists they had written down, laying them on the table. One was full of descriptions that Ezio had somehow conjured up, the other of names from the letters. "Other than Uberto Alberti, the Pazzi, and their banker, Bernardo Baroncelli, we can't match any of these people up. And there are many more descriptions than there are names. Where did you get these, anyway?"

"Does it matter?"

"You can't just go around killing people that _could_ be conspirators, Ezio. And a lot of these descriptions don't sound Italian. How far does this conspiracy go? We can't exactly trek all over Europe killing people."

"We'll go after Uberto Alberti next," Ezio said instead of a response.

"Ezio, answ-"

"He's a filthy _traditore_ that would have had us hanged by week's end if nothing was done."

Before she could retort, the door opened and both siblings whirled around to see their mother. Claudia quickly swept the papers behind her.

"Claudia, Ezio, there you are! There's been terrible news; Brother Maffei has been found dead in Palazzo Medici. And just after Lorenzo left the city, too," Maria said.

"And?" Ezio asked. Claudia elbowed him in the gut.

"How terrible, mother!" She said. "Do they know who did it?"

"No, Claudia, but I'm afraid your father is going to be the prime suspect, what with last night and all." Maria sighed. "Oh, I hope Lorenzo can resolve all this before it turns into a trial. In any case, be careful, _miei cari_. There's a killer loose in Florence, so perhaps it's best if you stay inside until he's caught." She then pulled both of them into a hug, squeezing hard before letting go. "Stay safe." Maria walked out of the room, leaving Ezio and Claudia alone by the table.

"Do you think she-"

"No, but you have to be more careful, Ezio. What kind of reaction was that to a murder?"

He stuck his tongue out at her. "Anyway, now that Lorenzo's gone, it's the perfect time to go after Alberti. We won't have to worry about il Magnifico's personal guards, and Alberti's more likely to be out and about, doing whatever slimy thing he's doing. I'm going. Don't tell anyone."

"Ezio!" Claudia hissed, but he was already walking out the door. Letting out a groan of frustration, Claudia turned back to the papers on the desk. If she just left them here... No, it would just implicate Ezio as a murderer (which, to be fair, he was). The letters, however... Making up her mind, Claudia grabbed the lists and ran to her bed, carefully curling them up and slotting them into one of the posts. Out of another post, she pulled out the letters she and Ezio had collected over the years and ran into Giovanni's office. If she just left them in one of his desk drawers, well, Claudia never told anyone anything, now did she.

\---

Luckily, Ezio's reputation meant that his disappearances were always met with an eye-roll and not much suspicion, but Claudia was not so fortunate. If she left the Palazzo, she needed a reason, or her mother would send someone to go look for her, and she'd lead them straight to the crime scene. On the bright side, Claudia was always good at getting what she wanted, so she figured she could figure something out. Gathering herself, Claudia grabbed her short sword and left in search of her mother.

Maria was in the sitting room when Claudia found her, posing for a painting for Leonardo. The light from the window cascading over her shoulders did make a beautiful scene. Claudia almost wanted to wait and watch, to see the artist deftly capture her mother's regal expression with his brushstrokes, but she had a mission to accomplish. She cleared her throat, and Leonardo startled, turning to look at her. Maria didn't even flinch.

"Mother."

"Yes, Claudia?"

"Ezio's left the Palazzo."

Maria sighed. "Of course he has. "

"Can I go get him?" Claudia asked.

"No, _figlia_ , your father or Federico will get him. It's not safe."

Claudia pouted, bringing up as much "Auditore princess" as she could into her voice. "But _mamma_ , why does Ezio get to leave and I don't? It's not fair!"

Maria gave Claudia one of _her_ signature looks. After all, Claudia got her stubbornness from her mother.

"Madonna Maria, if I may, perhaps Claudia can accompany me on a trip to the market? I'm in need of some yellow paint," Leonardo said.

"There's no need, maestro, I can have one of the servants fetch it for you."

"That is very gracious of you, but I'm afraid it's best if I do it myself, to make sure it's exactly what I need."

Maria looked tired, and Claudia could almost see her mind working to calculate how much effort it would take to talk Claudia out of it. She must have decided it wasn't worth it, especially after all the ruckus recently. Maria waved them on her way, and Leonardo set down his brush, then bowed and walked out of the room with Claudia.

"So, signora, where might your brother be?" Leonardo asked.

"Didn't you need paint, maestro?"

" _Mi dispiace_ , I'm afraid that was only an excuse so your mother would let you leave. But I am happy to look for Ezio with you."

Claudia examined the painter as they left the Palazzo and entered the streets. He was tense, avoiding eye contact with Claudia and fidgeting with the hems of his sleeves. His gait was somewhat stiff but he still walked quickly to keep up with her. Perhaps most tellingly, there were splotches of red faintly appearing on his face. Oh. The poor soul. Claudia stopped. Confused, so did Leonardo.

"He's likely in the whore house."

"Ah, La Rosa Colta? Then let's-"

"Leonardo," Claudia stated firmly.

"Yes?"

"You can do so much better than him."

"... _perdono?_ "

Claudia turned on her heel and walked away, only sprinting once she turned the corner and was out of Leonardo's sight. She could hear him gathering his wits behind her, frantically calling for her to stop. There was a twinge of regret in the back of her mind that she was leaving him to be chewed out by her mother when he returned empty-handed, but she pushed it aside. There were bigger things to be worried about.

Once she was reasonably sure Leonardo wouldn't find her, Claudia slowed down and blended in with the crowd as Paola had taught her. She listened for any signs that Ezio was spotted, and relaxed a little when there was only talk about Maffei, and how terrible it was that a poor monk like him had been killed. Still, while that was great for Ezio, it didn't help her find him.

" _Scusami, signora,_ " Claudia said, sweetly smiling and tapping on someone's shoulder. "Have you seen the Gonfalonieri?"

"The Gonfalonieri? Sorry, no."

" _Nessun problema._ "

It took quite a few tries before she found someone who directed her to the Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, saying that perhaps Alberti was making sure the attack wasn't religious in nature. Claudia profusely thanked the person, but internally she felt even more worried. Did that mean that there were more men of faith in the conspiracy? The Auditore were already not much liked by the church, but if Ezio went around killing more holy men and their father got the blame for it, it would only make things worse.

By the time she made it to the Basilica, the sun was already low in the sky. Hoping Ezio hadn't done anything stupid yet ~~he probably had, who was she kidding~~ , Claudia looked around the church. What she wouldn't give to have Ezio's Sight, so she could figure out where Alberti was. Alas, she could only wander from room to room, anxiety rising with each passing minute. Leonardo had probably returned to the Palazzo and told Maria everything already, and there were probably search teams out for her and Ezio on the streets. With how much she'd asked around, they'd be closing in on the church in no time.

The monks were also not too happy about a noble girl drifting around the church, looking for something, and if she had to rebuff one more well-intentioned man in a robe she worried she'd get thrown out. Heart sinking low with despair, Claudia was about to turn around and face whatever punishment Maria had in store when a hand clamped around her arm, then her mouth when she vehemently spun around.

"Shh, Claudia, it's me," Ezio whispered, then dragged her to another room.

"What are you doing?! Mother's going to be furious!" Claudia whispered back.

Ezio didn't respond but instead led her behind a bookcase to a narrow set of winding stairs that led down into darkness. He pulled the bookcase back over the opening when they entered, plunging them both into near complete darkness. Claudia's breath hitched, and she clutched Ezio's arm, noticing that his eyes were faintly glowing gold. His Sight led them both down, left, right, up, until Claudia couldn't keep track of where they were anymore, and held Ezio tightly. If they got separated, she would be stuck down here forever.

Finally, they approached a room dimly lit by candles, with 3 figures surrounding a table, loudly arguing with each other. Ezio pulled her behind the doorway, looking strangely right at the wall towards the room. _Merda, he can even see through walls?_

"The other two are Stefano da Bagnone and Francesco Salviati," Ezio murmured under his breath. "This was an emergency meeting; the Pazzi couldn't make it on such short notice. They suspect that Lorenzo has caught onto them and sent Father to kill them. They're planning to move the execution of them both up before anyone else gets killed." His eyes were cold, and Claudia was startled to see Ezio already tightly gripping a throwing knife. "This is _perfetto_. 3 in a row."

"Ezio, no-" but he was already ducking out from behind the arch, flinging the knife into Alberti's back. He went down with a surprised grunt, the other two drawing their swords and gasping when Ezio came into view. Merda, _they have swords? Who brings swords to a secret meeting?_

Ezio quickly drew another knife, sending it flying and slicing through Stefano's arm. He cried out in pain but didn't drop his sword. _Damn._ Stefano and Salviati slowly advanced on Ezio, apparently wary of the demon with yellow eyes that appeared out of nowhere, but Claudia knew that wouldn't last.

Alberti was getting up too, his wound gushing blood, but not fatal apparently. Ezio didn't notice, too busy clashing blades with the two others that wanted him dead. Claudia pulled out her short sword without even thinking, but the glint of the candlelight on the polished steel made her freeze. She hadn't killed anything since the bird, all those years ago. How did she even know she could do it? The feeling of the body cooling in her hands, the blood oozing onto the ground. She wanted to throw up.

Ezio cried out, and Claudia looked up, horrified to see Salviati had him pinned to the wall. Of course. These were trained swordsmen, there was no way Ezio could win. He would die. At that, Claudia's body moved before she could hold it back. Her sword found its way into Alberti's neck, her hands turning it to cut all the way around the front until it got caught in his spine. She and Ezio had sharpened it well.

A shower of blood rained on Claudia, making her flinch back, but it worked. Alberti's body collapsed to the floor, the head barely hanging on to the rest of the body. There were bits of white bone sticking out of the gory mess of the neck, and blood was still dripping from the table where he had collapsed before. _I did that._

Claudia stared, hands trembling, as the blood reached her feet. Her sword dangled uselessly from her fingers. A yelp of pain shattered her stupor, and she looked up to see Ezio furiously stabbing Salviati on his sword, having knocked his out of his hand. Stefano saw the bloody children and corpses in front of him, realizing he was outnumbered and ran for it with a torch. Claudia could only watch, her feet filled with lead and her breaths coming quick and shallow.

In front of her, Salviati finally got over the shock of Alberti's death, grabbing Ezio's blade from inside his chest and swiping it across his face. Ezio screamed, red pouring down shirt, and clutched his head. Salviati went for another strike at his heart, but his legs buckled beneath him and the sword scored a long line down Ezio's inner leg instead.

Both of them collapsed, Salviati on his face and Ezio curling into a fetal position, the crash jolting Claudia into motion. She tore off her dress, bundling Ezio up and trying to ignore how quickly the fabric was stained red. Claudia then picked Ezio up and ran in the direction Stefano had gone, thankfully spotting his torchlight immediately. By the time the three of them made it outside the Basilica through a secret entrance in the ground, Ezio had gone limp, and Claudia's blood was rushing through her ears.

Stefano escaped, but Claudia couldn't care less. "HELP!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, praying with all her soul that her mother's search parties had already reached the church. "I NEED A DOCTOR!" She barely registered arms pulling Ezio out of her grasp, and she snarled in a protective rage before recognizing the beaked mask of a doctor. He pulled Ezio out of her arms and tried to search her for wounds, a crowd forming around them. Claudia shook her head, pulling the remains of her dress off of her brother and pointing to him.

The doctor jumped, then hastily washed away the blood and started bandaging. Someone draped a robe over her, making sure her bare legs were covered. Claudia looked up to see Federico, who cupped her face in his hands and searched it for wounds. "The bl-blood's not mine," she stammered, and Federico seemed torn between fussing anyway and giving her a hug. He settled for the ladder, his strong arms wrapping her up as if he could shield her from all the world's evils himself.

Over his shoulder, Claudia saw her mother and father fast approaching, both turning pale upon seeing their children.

"First Brother Maffei and now this?" Giovanni whispered in horror.

"Claudia! Oh Claudia, what happened? When Leonardo came back alone I thought- I-" Maria was tripping over her words and her dress as she ran towards Claudia, pulling both her and Federico into a close embrace herself. "Oh thank God you're alright," she said, before breaking into a litany of prayers. Claudia felt the fear slowly leach out of her body as she was surrounded by the warmth and safety of her brother and mother, and her knees gave out. They gently lowered her to the ground, still holding on tight.

Giovanni stood behind the doctor, watching with his mouth set in a hard line as his middle son was wrapped in bandages. "What happened, Claudia?" He finally said.

She could only stiffly shake her head, not daring to look him in the eyes.

"Later, _mio amore,_ " Maria said. "When we're all home and safe."

\---

Claudia sat perfectly still in her bed, watching as waves of people fussed over Ezio's unconscious body. The Auditore were nobles, after all, and rich ones to boot. They would spare no expense in treating their son. Petruccio sat by her side, holding her hand and glancing back and forth between her and Ezio.

"Are you ok?" he whispered, clearly unnerved that he and Ezio had apparently switched places. He'd only seen it once before when Ezio went after Vieri.

"He used to always have legions of doctors fussing over him," Claudia whispered back, her chest feeling hollow ~~Ezio looked like he had already died~~. "Because of the nightmares, you see. You were too young to remember."

"Really?" Petruccio turned to look at Ezio, then back to Claudia. "But are you ok, Claudia?"

She stayed silent. Federico was hovering at Ezio's side, holding a tub of strange looking medical devices for the doctors. Mother and Father were fiercely whispering to each other in the hall, and even Leonardo was peeking in from behind the door. He looked distraught. Finally, Maria walked in and sat on Claudia's bed, Giovanni close behind.

"Claudia," she said. Claudia slowly turned to look at her. "What happened?"

"Uberto Alberti is dead," Claudia blurted out before she could stop herself. Maria always had that effect on her children. "And Francesco Salviati." Giovanni opened his mouth to interject, but Maria glared at him until he closed it again. She nodded at Claudia to go on. "We killed them. In a secret room under the Basilica. They were holding a meeting with Stefano de Bagnone to discuss moving up the execution of the Auditore and the murder of Lorenzo de' Medici." Giovanni and Maria had wide eyes at this point, but Claudia couldn't stop. "They're Templars," she whispered, and Giovanni sucked in a breath, eyes darting over to Ezio's bed.

"Let's take this to my office," he said.

Maria drew herself up as if to protest, but just nodded her head and stood up from the bed. "Can you walk, Claudia?"

At that Petruccio jumped up as well. "It's ok, Claudia, you can lean on me."

Giovanni looked pained. "Petruccio, it's best if-"

"No," Claudia interrupted, looking her father in the eyes. "I think it's best if we all hear this."

He gave a tight nod and went to extract Federico from the doctors. Maria and Petruccio helped Claudia up, each taking an arm as they led her to Giovanni's office. When they were all seated, Giovanni pulled out the bundle of letters from inside his desk.

"Was this you?"

Claudia nodded. "Me and Ezio. There's a couple of other papers in my bedpost."

Giovanni dropped his head into his hands. "Then Lorenzo's pigeons- but why- of course- I-" He stopped, then looked up again. "How- how did you do this? How did you know?"

"It's- well, it was Ezio. He got me to sneak into the Palazzo Medici with him, and he used his Sight to keep us hidden. When we found the letters, I wanted to tell you, but he told me not to."

"What? Why?" Federico said.

"He said you'd just lock us up and not let us do anything. That you'd try to do it alone, to protect us," Claudia said.

Giovanni looked stricken. "I see. Well, he has a point, that we can't do this alone. Federico?"

His gaze snapped to Giovanni, a wild look in his eyes. " _Sì, padre?_ "

"I've held you back for too long. Your swordplay could use some work, but you've been ready to become an assassin for a long time now."

"Really?"

"Yes, _figlio._ " Giovanni let out a smile at his eldest son's exuberance. "I have your robes and hidden blade ready. We can do the ceremony tomorrow."

"Assassin?" Petruccio asked, and Claudia just shook her head at him. "Later," she whispered. Federico was whispering something about robes under his breath, eyes bright.

Maria also smiled at Federico's excitement, but then she turned back to Claudia. "You said there were more papers in your bed?"

Claudia nodded. "Two lists. One of the names of Templars, and one of the descriptions of Templars that Ezio made."

"Descriptions?"

Claudia shook her head. "I don't know how he made it either, but from what I saw of Stefano and Salviati, they seemed real."

"Federico, can you go get them?" Giovanni asked. When Federico nodded and left, he continued, "The names. Do you remember who else was there?"

"Bernardo Baroncelli. Vieri de' Pazzi. Francesco de' Pazzi. Jacopo de' Pazzi. Rodrigo Borgia. And then many others that did not seem to be in Florence."

Giovanni looked grim. "We have more enemies than we realized. I have been gathering evidence that Francesco de' Pazzi is a murderer, but I never thought... And Ezio thought he could take them all on?"

Claudia gave a helpless shrug.

"Still, I gave the evidence to Alberti, and if he really is a traitor, then I suspect it is already gone. Still, these letters should also suffice to prove his guilt. As well as that of the others. A plot to kill the Auditore and the Medici..." Giovanni shook his head. "And all right under our noses, too. Thank you, Claudia, for telling me all of this. I'll make sure the Pazzi are tried, and the other Templars get what they deserve too."

Claudia nodded, sinking back into her seat. Her shoulders felt lighter, now that she didn't have to go behind her family's back, and that Giovanni knew what to do. Sometimes she still felt like a _piccola ragazza_ , going to her father to fix every little thing. _Some things haven't changed,_ she mused to herself. Still, she felt ill at ease. She was almost an adult, and yet here she was, still running to _papà_ whenever anything went wrong. Granted, this was a lot more serious than previous things, but still, Claudia felt helpless. _Is this what Ezio felt?_

Maria put a comforting hand around her shoulder. "Everything's going to be ok, Claudia. We'll take care of Ezio and the Templars. You don't have to worry anymore."

Claudia nodded.

\---

Ezio woke up two days later. Claudia was sitting by his side and reading out loud when she noticed his hand twitch. Ezio lifted his arm as if to reach for something, but then it fell back onto the bed.

"Ezio?"

" _Ac-acqua,_ " he rasped, wincing.

Claudia almost threw the book down, leaping from the seat to call for water. Annetta came bursting in with a pitcher, quickly pouring some into a cup. Claudia delicately helped Ezio sit up in bed, arranging the pillows to support his back. Annetta lifted the cup to his mouth, Ezio drinking in big, greedy gulps. When he was done he tried to reach up again, but Claudia pushed his hand back down.

"Just rest, Ezio."

"What's..."

Claudia bit her lip. Better get it out of the way fast. "It's a bandage. The doctors couldn't save your eyes. Or your leg. _Mi dispiace,_ Ezio."

His hand reached for where his left leg would have been. "Oh."

"Yeah. I guess practicing on animals isn't anything like the real deal, huh."

Ezio gingerly shrugged. He reached for another cup of water, which Annetta brought to his lips instead. Claudia held his hand in companionable silence as Ezio drank his fill, relaxing back into the pillows.

"Ezio! You're awake!" Petruccio exclaimed as he ran into the room.

Ezio smiled and turned towards his voice, holding out his arms. "Yeah, I am. Come here, Petruccio." He let out a little grunt as his little brother crawled onto the bed and into his arms.

"We were so worried, Ezio. You were all covered in blood- and Claudia was too- and you didn't wake up for so long."

At that, Ezio frowned. "Claudia was covered in blood?" He turned towards her. "What happened? Are you ok?"

Claudia rolled her eyes ~~not that he could see it~~. "I'm fine. It was Alberti's blood. He and Salviati are dead, by the way."

" _Bene._ "

"And I told everyone about what we were doing."

"... _what_."

"Stefano de Bagnone is dead too," Petruccio chimed in.

" _What_ ," both Claudia and Ezio said as they turned towards him.

"Yeah, some thieves got him as he was trying to escape town."

Claudia was stunned into silence. "Well, at least he didn't get away," she finally managed. "Lorenzo came back too, once word reached him of everything that's happened. _Papà_ has been working with him on collecting evidence for the trial of the Pazzi, and Lorenzo has had them arrested so they can't escape. The whole family and the banker." Ezio nodded in approval.

"And Rodrigo Borgia?" He asked.

"Nobody can find him. Maybe he escaped."

"Don't worry, Ezio," Petruccio said. "We'll find him eventually. And bring him to justice too. All you need to do now is rest and recover."

Ezio jerkily nodded again, clearly not used to other people knowing about the Templars. "Is everyone..."

"The family is fine," Claudia said, taking his hand again. "I told you, _papà_ has everything figured out. He and il Magnifico can take care of it. Oh, and, Federico's a fully-fledged assassin now. He can help them too."

"Really?" Ezio smiled. " _Papà_ finally let him become an assassin?"

"Mm-hm. I guess he realized how _stupido_ he was being too."

Ezio's smile dropped. "Yeah. I'm sorry, Claudia. I should have listened."

Claudia pressed a kiss to his cheek. "You should always listen to me, idiot brother. But apology accepted. I'm glad you're alive, Ezio."

"Thank you, Claudia."

\---

"Francesco de' Pazzi, you and your accomplices stand accused of the crime of treason. Have you any evidence to counter this charge?" Lorenzo de' Medici announced over the jeering crowd.

"Your day will come, Lorenzo!" Francesco spat at him. "Your entire family will die by Templar hands, mark my words!"

"In the absence of any compelling evidence to the contrary, I am bound to pronounce you guilty," Lorenzo continued. "You and your collaborators are hereby sentenced to death." He motioned to the executioner, who dropped the men to hang from their nooses. The crowd roared in approval.

Claudia put her hand on Ezio's shoulder and noticed he was shivering. "What's wrong? Are you cold?" He was always cold these days, still not fully recovered from the Basilica.

"No, it's nothing." Federico draped his doublet over Ezio anyway. His mother-henning had been on a hair-trigger ever since then. Ezio sighed. "It's just- it's exactly like-"

"Oh." Ezio had explained to them, in halting and imprecise speech, how he had visions of people's deaths. Including those of the family. That was where he had gotten the descriptions of the Templars, and how he knew who they were planning to kill. He hadn't had any recently ~~supposedly~~ , but Claudia surmised that the Auditore execution would be a traumatic memory his entire life. Perhaps he shouldn't have come to the Pazzi execution, but Ezio had insisted.

"In my dream, the guards chased me away before I could get the bodies down," Ezio mumbled.

Federico carefully brushed a stray hair out of Ezio's face. "You don't have to worry about that anymore. _Padre_ and Lorenzo had all the guards checked, and the ones that were brought on by Uberto Alberti were all replaced."

Ezio sighed and relaxed back into his wheelchair. It was quite an ingenious invention by Leonardo and made it much easier to take Ezio around town. He seemed quite upset that Ezio couldn't enjoy his paintings anymore, but Claudia reassured him as best she could that Ezio would love his gift more than any painting. He was never much for the visual arts (although now that he wasn't besieged by visions, who knew?).

Maria and Giovanni were on the stage, having just presented the evidence against the Pazzi before they were hanged, but they were making their way back down to their children.

" _Mamma_ and _papà_ are coming back, let's go home Ezio," Claudia said, gripping the handles to the wheelchair and starting to push him out of the Piazza. "I heard Annetta made cake today. We should eat it while it's hot." Ezio hummed in agreement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just one more to go!


	4. Petruccio (Epilogue)

Petruccio was no stranger to pain. It ebbed and flowed like the people on the street, and there were some days when he could even sit outside and admire the Tuscan birds overhead. Others he spent laying in bed, his mind a foggy mess, numbness in his hands and feet, and a general fever all throughout his body. Sometimes he could hear his mother humming a lullaby or combing through his hair when it was particularly awful. Sometimes it was his siblings; Claudia making faces at him to cheer him up or Federico telling him about the latest beautiful woman he met (Petruccio got the feeling he was making most of those up. There was no way there was a _nun_ running a brothel.)

Ezio didn't visit as often, and Petruccio was fine with that. It wasn't like he was lacking for company, with there usually being at least one other member of the family at the Palazzo at all times. Of course, Annetta was also there for him, and she even let him watch as she carried out her duties around the house. Perhaps Ezio just didn't like him that much, although that didn't seem quite true either after he went through all the effort to gather so many feathers for Petruccio.

Although, in light of new discoveries, maybe even those feathers weren't for him. Petruccio was no stranger to pain, but it seemed this was an entirely new form of pain, concentrated in his chest, and creeping up his back. Hopefully, this pain wouldn't stick around like the other one did ~~of course it would~~. Ezio looked so peaceful in bed, unlike Petruccio, who was a sweaty, squirmy mess whenever he was bedridden. Ezio looked like he was just asleep for the night, but that wasn't quite right either, as Petruccio had never heard of him sleeping alone without nightmares. There was something uncanny about the situation.

Regardless, it was a nice change of pace to be the one at the bedside for once, and Petruccio resolved that even though Ezio may not like him, he would still watch over Ezio as he slept. Petruccio pulled out the box of feathers from under his bed and sat it on the windowsill, in front of the curtain so he could use the moonlight to see. Picking a few downy feathers from the box, he dabbed a little wheatpaste onto them and attached them to the slowly forming shawl.

It was one of those days, where his head ached, and he felt fairly nauseous, so Petruccio knew he wasn't going to be sleeping that night. The shawl had started out as a way to pass the time, but it would also make a great gift for his mother, who had to put up with so much between him and Ezio ~~she likely would never wear it, it was hardly appropriate attire for a noblewoman~~. Hopefully, she would forgive him stealing some flour from the kitchen to make the glue, but with their wealth, it was hardly noticeable.

A shadow falling over his hands made Petruccio look up to see a hooded figure. He smiled, cracking open the window.

" _Buonasera_ , Volpe."

" _Buonasera, piccolo Auditore._ The deed is done."

" _Grazie molto._ " Petruccio pulled a bag of coin from his shirt. "Here."

La Volpe took the bag, not bothering to check the amount. He didn't need to, at this point. "You should not think this a common occurrence, Auditore. If it were anyone else making such a request of the thieves, we would hardly pay them any mind. Do not be careless with our favor."

"Of course not," Petruccio said. "This was a special occasion. The thieves' help is much appreciated."

"A special occasion? And what about Stefano de Bagnone is special?"

"You'll see soon enough, I suspect. Any news of the Spaniard?"

"Only rumors, I'm afraid. He was spotted heading towards Rome, but not from a reliable source."

"Hmm. Perhaps I should contact the thieves in Rome, then."

La Volpe chuckled. "You are a strange child, Auditore. What would your father think about you spending your coin on the riff-raff of the city like this?"

"I hope he would be proud."

"Proud?"

Petruccio let out a sigh of exasperation. "Out of all of my siblings, only Claudia has any sense of money, but she's too used to staring people down to get what she wants, so to speak. That may work on family, and the common people on the street, but it's hardly going to help her in the bank or in politics. Although I suspect she would be a brilliant banker if she put her mind to it. She is very skilled at book-keeping."

"And thus you are left to continue the family business? With thieves?"

"With connections. It's always good to know that I have enough sway over the bank's traditional enemies to get them to kill a man for me. That, and I can support the _other_ family business."

"Ah," La Volpe said, even though he did not sound very surprised. "Giovanni finally told you."

Petruccio nodded. He would likely never have the constitution to become an assassin the way Federico, and maybe even Claudia would, but at least this way he could still help the cause. From what the doctors had said, most likely Ezio would be in a similar situation, although Petruccio was still working on finding work for a blind man. If his visions, as Claudia had described them, still worked, then he could be a sort of mystical reconnaissance, assuming they could figure out a way to harness them.

"Well, if that is all, I must be off. _Addio, piccolo Auditore._ Try to get some sleep."

" _Addio._ "

\---

It seemed a rather impractical location to hold an initiation ceremony, Petruccio mused as Paola lit the fire. Surely, the light would be clearly visible in all directions due to the large archways, and he imagined it would be easy to be trapped if enemies flooded the base of the tower. Still, Federico was nearly vibrating out of his skin with jubilation beside him, and Petruccio could begrudgingly admit that the tradition of it all was very thrilling.

He looked resplendent in his white robes, the symbol of the Brotherhood shining proudly on his belt. The bold red stripes and the cape marked him as an Auditore, the proud and loyal assassin family that led the Italian Guild of Assassins. Perhaps one day Federico would lead it himself as Mentore, inheriting Monteriggioni and taking new recruits under his wing. Petruccio could imagine it; Federico would make a great teacher and father, keeping all his little ducklings in a row.

"Laa shay'a waqi'un moutlaq bale kouloun moumkine," Giovanni began. "These are the words spoken by our ancestors that lay at the heart of our creed. Where other men blindly follow the truth, remember-"

"Nothing is true," Federico replied.

"Where other men are limited, by morality or law, remember-"

"Everything is permitted."

"We work in the dark, to serve the light. We are Assassins," Giovanni finished.

"Nothing is true, everything is permitted," said all those present, and Petruccio felt something stir within him at the ancient words. Then came the brand, and Petruccio winced in sympathy as Federico's hand sizzled. It was better than chopping off the entire finger, he supposed, but it was no less permanent. A mark of one's devotion to the Brotherhood. To the creed. There was no backing off now, no half-assing it. Federico was an assassin, through and through.

" _Congratulazioni, fratello,_ " Petruccio said, giving Federico a hug. The buckles and straps were digging into his skin, but hugs with Federico were always great anyway.

Federico grinned, and returned the embrace, squeezing his little brother tight. "Thank you," he whispered, voice thick with emotion. Petruccio felt a kiss on the top of his head, and maybe even some tears. He giggled. Federico was such a sap. If only Ezio were here, then he and Claudia could team up on Federico and make fun of him. As it stood though, Claudia's eyes were also suspiciously shiny.

"Don't you get comfortable," she said, sniffling. "I'll catch up in no time and leave you in the dust."

"I would expect no less," Federico said, walking over to kiss her and their mother on the cheek. He then joined the other assassins, and they made their leaps of faith off the tower.

"Doesn't it get crowded down there?" Petruccio asked, leaning over the ledge to get a better look.

Claudia shrugged. "They're assassins. I'm sure they have something figured out. Come on, let's go down the boring way."

\---

Petruccio took another bite of cake. It was sweet, but not nearly as sweet as the spectacle he was viewing. Leonardo was trying to create a false leg for Ezio so that he did not have to rely on someone else to push him around. In and of itself, that would not much such an interesting sight, but the bright red flush that had appeared on Leonardo's face as he was taking measurements made Petruccio intrigued enough to take note. The doctors had amputated quite high up, after all, and Leonardo was making every effort to make sure the left would match the right. Of course, Ezio's face was turned somewhere else, completely oblivious to the engineer about to combust in front of him

"10 florins say Ezio doesn't realize until year's end," Claudia said, snagging another slice of cake.

"Claudia, please, Ezio is our brother. 10 months."

"Deal."

"50 florins say I'm going to take off _his_ leg if Leonardo tries anything," Federico interjected, eyes narrowed.

"That's not how bets work, _idiota_ , and that's not even on topic."

Petruccio nodded. "This is why _papà_ quit trying to teach you to be a banker, Federico."

Federico let out an exaggerated gasp. "Petruccio! How could you say that!" He swooned in his chair. "Oh, I'm wounded. Wouldn't you like to make amends before your dear brother dies?"

Petruccio didn't even turn to look. "There is nothing to amend."

Federico collapsed onto the table. "Ack, betrayed by my favorite little brother. Is this how it all ends?"

"Ezio's your favorite."

"Nonsense! Ezio may be adventurous, but he doesn't have your sweet disposition, Petruccio." Claudia snorted. Federico stuck out his tongue at her. "Maybe you could learn a thing or two from dear Petruccio here, Claudia."

Claudia gave a saccharine smile. "I've learned enough to send this knife through your face, dear Federico."

"Eep! Petruccio, protect me!" Federico dived behind Petruccio's seat.

Petruccio rolled his eyes. How was this the oldest and the only assassin of the siblings? Claudia took the opportunity to stuff all of Federico's cake in her mouth, and Ezio seemed to have started absently playing with strands of Leonardo's hair, sending the poor man into what looked like shock. Scratch that, why were all his older siblings like this?

"You're going to get sick if you eat that much cake, Claudia," Federico said, peeking out from behind Petruccio.

She just waved her knife at him and continued eating her cake. Federico ducked back down, sulking. Unbelievable. Petruccio sighed and took another bite. At least everyone was alive, and well enough to be threatening each other. If he didn't think about it too hard, he could just relax and enjoy the moment.

"Enough," Ezio said. "We can continue later. For now, let's eat."

Leonardo helped him up, hand awkwardly stiff around Ezio's waist as he helped him hobble to the dining table. His blush had spread all over his face and neck, and Petruccio could almost see steam coming out of his ears. When he looked back, Federico was getting a murderous glint in his eye again, no longer cowering in fear but crouching in anticipation, like a viper about to strike. Claudia looked too amused at the situation, so it looked like it fell upon Petruccio to save his brothers from each other.

He faked a cough, letting his breath run ragged as it often did and hunching over in his seat. Predictably, Federico snapped into worry mode, cupping Petruccio's face and sliding into the seat beside him for warmth. Petruccio let himself be picked up and carried to bed, the beginnings of an argument between Ezio and Claudia forming behind them.

Federico was quick and efficient in tucking Petruccio in, a skill learned after many years of practice, and he kissed him on the brow before leaving, likely to get some water. Petruccio relaxed back into the soft mattress, letting the comfort of life returning to normal wash over him. He was out long before Federico returned.

\---

Petruccio gasped along with everyone else as the staff sent beams of light at the door to the vault, which lowered with a groan.

"But, Rodrigo is dead! How can this be?" Mario exclaimed, looking back at the Grandmaster's cooling corpse.

"Was he not the prophet after all?" Federico said, walking over to the door. When he tried to reach past it, however, the air crackled and glowed, and he quickly pulled his hand back. "Unless, it somehow opened before he died, and now nobody can go in."

"At least we don't have to worry about it falling into Templar hands, then," Giovanni said.

Petruccio jumped when he realized Ezio was no longer holding his hand. "Ezio? What are you..."

He was hobbling to the vault, cane clacking on the stone ground, and drawn forward with a single-minded focus. Everyone gasped again as he passed through the doorway with no issue, Federico reaching to follow him but flinching back when he was rebuffed again. The assassins crowded around the door and waited with bated breath as Ezio made his way to the center of the chamber, the floor and walls lighting up at his touch.

Another bright light appeared to Ezio's left, coalescing into a humanoid figure. Ezio did not turn until it began to speak, the ghostly figure taking the shape of a tall woman in flowing robes.

"Greetings, prophet," she said, and the assassins at the door shared wild looks with each other. "It is good you have come. You as well, Desmond. Are you satisfied?"

"Yes, Minerva," Ezio said, but with another's voice. "Ezio's injuries are unfortunate but preferable. The Apple and Staff are no longer in the hands of someone like Rodrigo Borgia."

"Very well," Minerva said. "It is time for you to move on. Two great tragedies have been averted by your efforts. Rest in peace, Desmond."

"Wait!" Ezio cried out, in his own voice this time. "Preferable to what? Who are you? What tragedies?"

"Preferable to the tragedy of your family's execution hanging over your head for the rest of your life," Desmond said, still speaking through Ezio. "As for the other, that's nothing you need to worry about. You shouldn't worry about who we are either, but I am sorry about the nightmares. It was the best we could do. Now that we're leaving, they should be gone."

"I- I don't understand," Ezio said.

"You don't need to," Minerva said. "You have done your part. You may rest as well, now. Goodbye, prophet."

"No, wait," Ezio said, but the glowing had stopped, and the door no longer barricaded the others out. The assassins rushed in, surrounding Ezio, who was groping at the air where Minerva was.

"She's gone, _nipote,_ " Mario said.

"But... I..." Ezio started, looking lost.

Petruccio took his hand. He was almost the same height, now. "It sounded like everything worked out, Ezio. Don't worry." He brushed some of Ezio's hair back. "It also sounded like you went through a lot, _fratello._ In this life and the others. Let us take care of you, for once. Come on. Let's go home."

Ezio leaned into Petruccio's shoulder. "Yeah. Ok. Let's go home."

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism welcome


End file.
